The Economic Impact of Small Colleges on Local Economies: A Guide to Attainable Data and Best Practices

Abstract

This article outlines a practical standard of university economic impact analyses for small colleges. The needs of small colleges greatly differ from those of large universities, as they are typically dependent on in-house resources to conduct economic impact analyses. These financial limitations create a need for suitable, publicly available data that can substitute for primary, costly data collection, as well as guidelines on best practices for researchers or practitioners who may not be experts in input–output methodology. The article reviews the foundations of economic impact analysis and then discusses fundamental modeling decisions. The suggested practices are illustrated using two small colleges in Ohio as case studies.